GLUTEN FREE SUPERMARKET MINCE PIE COMPARISON

It is that time of year again where we can indulge in mince pies. You can’t beat getting tucked up by the fire, with a cuppa tea and a good mince pie. What’s not to love?

Thankfully for us Coeliacs, most supermarkets now stock gluten free mince pies, but my question is, which are the best? As gluten free tends to be more expensive, we want to make sure we are buying the best ones!

Here is my comparison:

Morrisons RRP £2.00
They have to take the top spot. The mince pie looked rustic and homemade in appearance which I loved, the pastry held together when cut down the centre and it was buttery and delicious. The filling was packed with flavour. That spiced, alcoholic depth that is definitive of Christmas time. LOVE.

Sainsburys RRP £2.00
Very similar to Morrisons, it wouldn’t surprise me if they used the same manufacturer. It had the same rustic design and the pastry was lovely. One difference I could tell between these and Morrisons, was that the filling wasn’t quite as powerful in flavour… but still absolutely delicious (the Morrisons ones also seemed to have a dusting of icing sugar on the top).

M&S RRP £2.50
Slightly different in appearance, with an open top which I like, these M&S ones are very tasty. The pastry is very shortbread like in its flavour, very buttery and very delicious. I think they could have been a little more generous on the filling, but all in all these were lovely. Although what I would say is that the shelf life on these is not as long, however that likely means they are fresher and that came through in the flavour. They are the most expensive as expected.

Tesco RRP £1.75
I have to say, these were my least favourite – and are identical to the Co-Op version. The filling was lacking and almost paste like and the pastry whilst it was very buttery, was very crumbly which was a shame. Also, they weren’t as pretty as the other ones I had seen. While Tesco do have a fabulous range of Free From goods for Christmas, I would definitely go for other brand mince pies.

Co-Op RRP £2.00
The mince pies are identical to the Tesco ones, which sadly were not top of my list. This makes me think they use the same manufacturer. Strangely, Co-Op were charging more for what I am pretty sure is the same product though! Worth noting if you like these ones, you can get them cheaper at Tesco!

Note:Costa also do a gluten free mince ‘tart’, larger than a usual mince pie but very tasty and a lovely texture, although at £2.10 per tart it’s not cheap!

Verdict: I have to say Morrisons takes the gold on this one, closely followed by Sainsburys and M&S – unfortunately I might be giving Tesco / Co-Op versions a miss this year.

This is just my personal taste, everyone is different. Which have you tried and which do you love?!